The cover is from a Greek portrayal of the reality of war -- a fitting portrayal too of life under socialism, in which brute force is the only way to secure control over resources essential to life. This edition is the original as published by Yale University, the edition that introduce to American audiences the first thorough and scientific demolition of what was and is one of the great delusions in the history of the world. This masterwork is much more than a refutation of the economics of socialism (although on that front, nothing else compares). It is also a critique of the implicit religious doctrines behind Western socialist thinking, a cultural critique of socialist teaching on sex and marriage, an examination of the implications of radical human inequality, an attack on war, socialism, and refutation of collectivist methodology. In short, Mises set out to refute socialism, and instead yanked out the collectivist mentality from its very roots. For that reason, Socialism led dozens of famous intellectuals, including a young F.A. Hayek, into a crisis of faith and a realist/libertarian political orientation. All the collectivist literature combined cannot equal the intellectual achievement of this one volume. The contents of this volume include: Foreword by F. A. Hayek Introduction Part I. Liberalism and Socialism 1. Ownership 2. Socialism 3. The Social Order and the Political Constitution 4. The Social Order and the Family Part II. The Economics of a Socialist Community Section I. The Economics of an Isolated Socialist Community 5. The Nature of Economic Activity 6. The Organization of Production Under Socialism 7. The Distribution of Income 8. The Socialist Community Under Stationary Conditions 9. The Position of the Individual Under Socialism 10. Socialism Under Dynamic Conditions 11. The Impracticability of Socialism Section II. The Foreign Relations of a Socialist Community 12. National Socialism and World Socialism 13. The Problem of Migration Under Socialism 14. Foreign Trade Under Socialism Section III. Particular Forms of Socialism and Pseudo-Socialism 15. Particular Forms of Socialism 16. Pseudo-Socialist Systems Part III. The Alleged Inevitability of Socialism Section I. Social Evolution 17. Socialistic Chiliasm 18. Society 19. Conflict as a Factor in Social Evolution 20. The Clash of Class Interests and the Class War 21. The Materialist Conception of History Section II. The Concentration of Capital and the Formation of Monopolies as Preliminary Steps to Socialism 22. The Problem 23. The Concentration of Establishments 24. The Concentration of Enterprises 25. The Concentration of Fortunes 26. Monopoly and Its Effects Part IV. Socialism as a Moral Imperative 27. Socialism and Ethics 28. Socialism as an Emanation of Asceticism 29. Christianity and Socialism 30. Ethical Socialism, Especially That of the New Criticism 31. Economic Democracy 32. Capitalist Ethics Part V. Destructionism 33. The Motive Powers of Destructionism 34. The Methods of Destructionism 35. Overcoming Destructionism Conclusion: The Historical Significance of Modern Socialism Epilogue